The proposal is to be published Wednesday in the Federal Register and initiates the temporary ban on new claims. “This is something that is going to be welcomed by the conservation and scientific community, hunters and those areas where (desert land) tourism is important to their local economy,” said Frazier Haney, conservation manager for the Mojave Desert Land Trust in Joshua Tree.

A 640-acre parcel that is slated to, over time, become part of Joshua Tree National Park includes high ground with a view of both Yucca and Coachella valleys and the distant San Gorgonio Wilderness Area peaks, according to the Mojave Desert Land Trust, which recently purchased the land...

The land, located south of the intersection of Acoma Trail and Golden Bee Drive in Yucca Valley, was previously owned by a developer who sought to turn the property into a residential housing subdivision. The successful protection effort was announced by the Mojave Desert Land Trust, who will own and manage the land.

A sloping piece of the Mojave Desert that rises into rugged hills next to Joshua Tree National Park was bought more than a decade ago by a company that planned to turn it into a subdivision. Instead, the 640-acre property will become a protected area for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians, and for wildlife from bighorn sheep to mountain lions.

Jaqueline Guevara director of education and public engagement at the Mojave Desert Land Trust, presents a check to Phil Crouch of the Needles District Business Alliance and Pam Blake of the Needles Chamber of Commerce for helping to distribute the Mojave Monuments tool kits to tourists.

Mojave Desert Land Trust Conservation Director Frazier Haney told the Daily Press that HCPs are common statewide, but said the the town’s plan is the first of its kind in the High Desert. “The HCP is a federal structure,” Haney said. “The planning process itself is allowed by the Endangered Species Act, and the town has an opportunity to do something that’s very forward thinking. It could be a good thing.”